THE STATE OF LUXURY WATCH E-COMMERCE

Luxury watch brands are slowly catching up when it comes to direct-to-consumer e-commerce. But the few of them who are ahead – Richemont and LVMH – who have decided to speed up their online strategy, are widening the gap.

More than just selling online, their direct-to-consumer approach allows them to significantly grow their knowledge on consumers, grasp fast-changing behaviors, adapt services on a client-centric basis, and overall master the customer experience, from online to offline.

Based on primary research conducted by DLG Data & Analytics team, this report aims to be a neutral and factual review of the 62 luxury and premium watch brands identified by DLG for its WorldWatchReport Benchmark. For this study, only the watch segment is taken into account: jewellery and accessories segments have not been included.

Part 1: E-commerce landscape

We first deep-dived into the e-commerce landscape, unveiling surprising facts on market distribution and social shopping, among other things.

We found out that over 40% of luxury watch brands are presently offering direct-to-consumer e-commerce, and not only relying on third parties or wholesalers. E-commerce for luxury watch brands remains tightly consolidated and “close to home” with half of brands only venturing into Western Europe and the United States.

Part 2: E-commerce services

Based on an in-depth analysis of 27 criteria, we then established the most differentiating service offerings when it comes to e-commerce experience (e.g., we take mobile-optimization initiatives as as given). It includes topics such as content, on-demand support, delivery options, exclusivity. The UK, market number 2 in which most of the luxury watch brands are offering direct-to-consumer services, is used as a point of reference.

Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Bell & Ross and IWC are among the brands offering the most seamless e-commerce experience on their owned channels.

E-commerce for luxury watch brands remains tightly consolidated and “close to home” with half of brands only venturing into Western Europe and the United States.

Brands that have risen to the top have a higher affiliation with other mature e-commerce product categories (i.e., beauty, accessories, and jewelry) and are applying those learnings, creating a sense of urgency for the broader industry as the bar rises. Among them: Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dior.

The omni-channel experience is a key point of consistency across e-commerce enabled brands, from pick-up in-store to returning in-store.